The Devil is in The Details
by Squirrela
Summary: What happens when Charlie discovers that Wilkinson is spying for Slugworth? Does all hell break loose, or does Willy find that there are more ways than one to catch a crook? A story in four parts.
1. Devil One - A Stunning Discovery

The idea for this story doesn't belong to me. A few months back, I stated to a friend that I had just finished reading something, and now had to work out what next to spend my time on. She requested a oneshot, of Willy discovering Wilkinson was a spy for Slugworth.

This short, multi-chapter, fic grew out of that conversation.

If you recognise it from elsewhere, it doesn't belong to me. (More on this later!)

 **The Devil is in the Details**

Devil One - A Stunning Discovery

* * *

The sound of the main gate creaking closed echoed around the small office, amplified by the sound system Willy had installed the previous week. Willy jumped.

"That'll be James, returning. Are you ready for this, Charlie?"

The teenager nodded, maintaining his silence. Despite the fact that he had been the one who discovered it, Charlie still couldn't believe it. Their right-hand man had turned spy.

* * *

It had begun three months earlier, with Charlie barrelling into Willy's third-floor office (the one he used most of the time), shouting as if he believed Willy might be completely deaf, instead of just a little deaf in his right ear.

Willy had looked up, his eyes like slits, glaring daggers at his young apprentice. The crack of the hand against the table vibrated through the air, causing Charlie to wince at the thought of how Willy's palm must sting. Then Charlie had pressed a finger to his lips. After a moment, convinced that his message had filtered through, Charlie picked up the phone, pressed three buttons, and put the device against Willy's left ear. Willy's hand automatically lifted to grip the instrument, holding it in place, almost without him wanting to. Charlie continued to hold the phone also, hand curled protectively around the mouthpiece, an extra layer of protection against sound.

Willy heard a voice, whispering in his ear:

"Yes, Mr. Slugworth, 'hot and spicy', that's exactly what they said— Well, that's how Willy put it. Charlie said that they should be 'smokin' hot!'

"Anyway, as I was saying, after curried Snozzberries, the second key ingredient is the Elder Flower. A tea is made, the liquid is strained, and that which is left is then distilled. Only the purest of the steam will be used, barely one cup of liquid from a whole barrel of tea, to 'enhance the delicate flavour'. Ten cups of this tea are needed for each batch, or was it every bar? No matter. We shall find out easily enough.

"I didn't hear what was said after that, but those two things, hot and spicy curried Snozzberries and, extra-pure, distilled, Elder Flower tea, were mentioned as being highly important to the end result."

Willy let go of the phone, dropping his hand to his side in shock. Charlie, watching, brought the phone to his own ear. Hearing the conspirators droning on, he replaced the phone on the receiver. Willy, having heard enough, didn't seem to register the change, and continued to gaze at the wall. When Charlie looked closer, he realised that the mix of despondency and perturbation reflected in Willy's gaze, was mirrored by the way the man had seemed to shrivel in on himself. Willy's face was grey.

Tied into a loop of uncertainty, the man was frozen in place by the maelstrom that had taken the place of his thoughts. How had this happened? How could James? This betrayal was worse than anything Willy had experienced before. James, James, James! His would-be personal friend! They had worked together for so long! James knew so many of Willy's secrets! And now he had sold Willy out? Yes! His employees had stolen from him in the past! Yes! Spies had passed his recipes onto his competitors! They had passed them on to Slugworth! And this meant Slugworth was still at it? He hadn't learned his lesson? But none of _those_ spies had been his friend. None of them had been his confidante. None of them had ever had such a personal connection! This betrayal was the ultimate betrayal.

In an instant, Willy's entire demeanour changed. The grey disappeared. A vibrant red suffused his cheeks. The much abused hand smacked across the desk again, sending a crack like thunder around the room.

"WILKINSON!"

Charlie slapped his hands over his ears a moment too late, leaving his ears ringing from the volume. He was actually surprised that Mr. Wilkinson didn't hear, and come running to find out what he had done wrong. Or run away, instead.

"You double-crosser! How dare you do that! After everything I've done for you!"

Charlie was struck by the fact that the last time he had seen Willy angry was back on the day of the tour, when Willy had shouted at Charlie that he had lost. Charlie had thought Willy was angry then. If that was anger, this was pure fury. By comparison, the tour day paled into insignificance. Willy continued raving all the while Charlie was thinking, with the volume increasing exponentially.

Suddenly, silence encompassed the office, booming round it, the loudness of the quiet oppressive, given the previous volume. Charlie would almost have believed that Willy had experienced a second mercurial emotional shift in as many minutes, moving from anger to pleasure, but for the snarl adorning his face, confirming that he was still angry. Then the muttering began, little more than a grimace of sound, that lasted for another few minutes. Only the occasional word was audible, beyond the odd "I'll show him," that seemed to growl along as if it were an engine.

Then, Willy's face cleared, and he looked up.

"How did you find out about this?"

The tone was frigid. Charlie found himself shivering from the ice it held.

"I was walking back to my family suite, and got caught up in an Oompa-Loompa game. We were having fun running through the corridors when a raised voice caught my attention, so we listened. James sounded excited, I clearly heard him say, 'Slugworth.' I froze at the name. I couldn't have moved if I had wanted to. Then I heard something about 'new invention. I'm serious. Now will you tell Mr. Slugworth?'

"I looked at the Oompa-Loompas in dismay. None of us said anything. What we had heard seemed too awful to talk about. Then I realised that I needed to tell you, so I ran to find you, starting to shout your name once I reached the production corridors, hoping that you would be somewhere around and would hear me. And... That's it, sir! That's how I found out."

Story told, Charlie ran out of steam. Willy sat in silence for a few minutes. Then he looked up at Charlie, blue eyes hard and unyielding. "I have to take action on this. If I don't they could ruin us. Are you up for a spot of revenge via consequences?"

Charlie's eyes glinted as he picked up the new atmosphere in the room. "What did you have in mind?"

A devious expression crossed Willy's face as he responded. "Well..."

* * *

Charlie had been thrilled when Willy had explained his idea. The potential for mayhem had both grinning from ear-to-ear. Wilkinson had let them down; the disappointment had been a huge shock to them both. Now Willy was rewarding Charlie for his quick actions by letting Charlie play a part in Wilkinson's downfall. That they would be able to take care of Slugworth at the same time, was a bonus. Yes. Willy's idea excited Charlie.

A disappointing three weeks passed without further comment. Charlie began to think that Willy had forgotten all about Wilkinson's treachery. He found it disconcerting just how normal everything seemed to be. The routine of the factory continued on without a hitch. The only thing that suggested anything different was that there had been no working on the recently dubbed "Snozzbang Sucker." Or any other invention for that matter. The lack of creativity was starting to drive Charlie crazy.

Usually, when there was a new creation in the pipeline, Willy would concentrate on the process until the recipe was perfect. With candy, he concentrated on gaining the flavour that he desired for that particular creation. When the flavour was exactly right, the confection would enter the testing phase. Oompa-Loompas would be drafted in from all over the factory to put it through its paces. Once all the side effects had been discovered, Willy could work on eradicating them.

This creation was still in the first phase of production. There was a lot to be done before they could move on; Willy should be in the inventing room much of the day, concentrating on perfecting it. But he wasn't. The creation may as well have been put 'on hold' for all the work that had been done on it.

Charlie sighed. Willy's current behaviour was a mystery well beyond anything Charlie could unravel. It would all become clear before too much longer, Charlie was certain. Until that point, the only thing that Charlie could do was emulate his mentor. And so, Charlie did his best to act as if everything were progressing as normal.

Willy, meanwhile, was smiling to himself as he watched James squirm. After the first week, the other man had begun hanging round areas he wouldn't normally visit. Willy would take every available opportunity to wander along and surprise James in his activities, causing the other man to jump. Willy varied his method of attack, but whether it took three minutes, or thirty, the question regarding what James was up to was eventually asked. James would then have to come up with spontaneous reasons regarding his presence in such spots.

The Oompa-Loompas responsible for monitoring the tap they had placed on James' phone reported that Slugworth was putting more and more pressure on James. Slugworth was eager to find out what was happening with the new creation, what other ingredients were required, and just how they were to be combined. In short, Slugworth wanted to know what the delay was. The sweat starting to bead on James' brow was a delicious hint of the tension he was under: like a rodent, on a rock, frozen in the sight of two birds of prey.

Eventually Slugworth lost all patience with James. Cricknell, the Oompa-Loompa monitoring the phone at the time, reported that James received a verbal chewing-out that would traumatise the most cocky crook. A very much cowed James was soon seen passing through the main gate, in response to the summons he had received. Apparently, Slugworth now wanted to meet up with him in person.

The aftermath of this was that James actually approached Willy, flat-out asking him what the delay was. It was morning, a busy time in the factory, and Willy was concentrating on other things. He was heading to the Chocolate Room, to discuss plans with the Oompa-Loompas responsible for it, when James approached.

(This had been Slugworth's plan, when James had pointed out that he was unlikely to get a straight answer. 'Then ask him when he's busy, moron!' James had lent back, away from the angry man, trying to avoid the flying spittle accompanying this furious pronouncement. Then Slugworth steepled his fingers. 'Yes, that will do nicely.' James cocked his head. 'You will ask Wonka about the delay when he is distracted, concentrating on other things. That way he won't worry about what he believes he should tell you, and you will get an honest answer. Now go!' James, feeling doubtful, knew he had no choice, and having been dismissed, disappeared without delay.)

So it was, that as Willy entered the corridor heading to the Chocolate Room, James bounced from behind a door to pounce.

"Mr Wonka, sir! There you are! Is all well today?"

"Ah, James, my good man. "The sun shines brightly, and the birds sing sweetly." How might I help you this morning?"

James smiled, uncertain. "Must I want help, sir?"

Willy pierced him with a glance. "These days, it seems you appear in the strangest of places, at the strangest of times. Past experience has shown that this bothersome behaviour only occurs when something is bothering you. I wish for this bothersome behaviour to stop, so I must enquire about what is bothering you to achieve the aim of decreasing the occurrence of said bothersome behaviour. Now; how might I help you?"

James twiddled the buttons of his coat sleeve before looking up. "I was just wondering what was happening with your newest invention, sir! It's not normal for weeks to pass without any mention of your latest idea, and the myriad of happenings in relation to it. I just had to ask what was going on."

Willy pursed his lips, musing on his response. "Well, now, why would you be interested in that, my good man?"

James, by now being used to such probing questions, explained.

"You know how invested I am in the success of the factory, sir. I know how rare it is for your experiments to screech to a halt as quickly as this one has. Not without something new springing up in its place, at least. This silence from the Inventing Room— It concerns me."

Willy smiled, brushing an imaginary speck of lint from James' coat, and pretending to examine it in minute detail for the next few moments, before deigning to reply. "Nothing to worry about, my good man. All will come right in the end, you'll see. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must be going."

Willy turned, and disappeared down a corridor, a nearby door banging closed behind him. Wilkinson threw his hands up and stamped his foot, an exclamation of disgust escaping from his lips. All that effort, and he was still no further forwards. Mr. Slugworth would not be happy, but James could do no more. If Willy didn't want to tell James something, he might as well give up trying. Willy wasn't likely to change his mind for all the persuading James could do.

* * *

With events such as this, the stall in production continued on for six weeks. Charlie himself had almost forgotten about the plans, when Willy popped out from behind a door, mere inches in front of him.

"In here Charlie!"

Willy beckoned for Charlie to follow him. Knowing better than to question at this time, Charlie kept his mouth closed, and followed the instructions he was given. Willy would not appreciate anything else, especially given he was obviously trying to be covert. Questions were not covert.

They walked along corridor after corridor, many of which Charlie had never been down before. The sight of the odd, scurrying Oompa-Loompa, convinced Charlie that these corridors were part of the Oompa-Loompa byways. Finally they entered a room Charlie had never seen before.

"This, Charlie, is my War Room," Willy explained in a whisper. "All of my most secret discussions are held here. No one enters without my express permission, and now it is time for me to induct you in the mysteries that surround it."

The haunting tone, mixed with the quiet solemnity of the room, impressed Charlie with the seriousness of Willy choosing to introduce him to such an important area of the factory. The atmosphere was heavy, oppressive; then Willy dispelled the sensation, almost without thinking about it.

"It is now time for us to talk further about our plans for dealing with Wilkinson. I know it must have seemed like I had forgotten about his treachery, but, in reality, I have been preparing many details, in the background. Now, after approaching two months, it is time for us to begin moving forwards with the plan. Are you still with me, Charlie?"

Charlie barely contained a whoop of excitement. Was he in with Willy? Of course he was in with Willy! The look on his face said it all. Without waiting for a verbal answer, Willy outlined the stage things were at now...

* * *

AN: End of Devil One... onto the last of the acknowledgements...

The quotation Willy uses in conversation with James, in modified format, comes from The Wizard of Oz. It describes Dorothy walking along the Yellow Brick Road towards the Emerald City:

"Within a short time she was walking briskly toward the Emerald City, her silver shoes tinkling merrily on the hard, yellow road-bed. The sun shone bright and the birds sang sweetly, and Dorothy did not feel nearly so bad as you might think a little girl would who had been suddenly whisked away from her own country and set down in the midst of a strange land."


	2. Devil Two - In with the Conspirators

Chapter Two - In With the Conspirators

The next meeting took place in the Inventing Room, a week and a half later, the location determined by James' machinations. One of the Oompa-Loompa security investigators had discovered a concealed microphone, hidden in a dark corner under the Eye-Popping Eyeballs machine. Now, fully understanding how James had managed to eavesdrop on a conversation when he had been occupied outside of the Factory, Willy, after ensuring that Charlie was carefully primed as to what to expect, was ready to proceed.

On the day, Charlie was late. Class had run past time, and the teacher had then kept him back. Charlie had been due in the Inventing Room ten minutes before he had been able to leave the school grounds! This knowledge had Charlie running, as if flames were licking his heels, all the way to the Factory. It was simply typical that he would be kept late on the day Willy was finally ready to resume work on the Snozzbang Suckers!

Rushing through the corridors, Charlie burst into the Inventing Room, yelling with all his might. "Sorry I'm late, Willy! Mr. Turkentine kept me. Are we really ready to begin working on the Snozzbang Suckers again?"

Willy looked up, his face so full of thunder clouds that even though Charlie knew Willy was just playing a role here, it took him a while to convince himself that he wasn't in serious trouble.

"What have I told you about the way you comport yourself in my Factory, Charlie?"

The tone was low, menacing. Charlie found himself shivering. "'My comportment is to be exemplary. I am to comport myself in such a way that even my sternest critic has no complaint against me'."

"And how does bucketing along the hall, and barreling into the Inventing Room, fit into this picture?"

Charlie sighed, knowing that he had let Willy down again. "It doesn't. I'm sorry, Willy."

Willy stood glaring a full minute longer. "See you don't do it again," he menaced, before having one of his characteristic mood swings. "And now, shall we begin our much delayed work on the Snozzbang Suckers?"

Charlie gurgled in relief. "I'm thrilled that we are finally ready to get on with working on them again. The shortage of Sugarnuts really did delay production. Are you sure that this is the last major ingredient, Willy?"

Willy smiled, his grin spreading from ear-to-ear, as he took in how naturally Charlie said this. Surely they should have James' attention by now. "Well, they should be, but you never can tell. The key to this ingredient is the grinding. They are to be ground into a fine powder, and then sprinkled pinch, by arduous pinch, into the mix of tea and curried Snozzberries. The three ingredients are then mixed into a paste. This paste is piped into the honeycomb of chocolate, and left to set."

Charlie looked at Willy, a puzzled frown on his face. When a few minutes had passed in silence, Willy decided it was time to prompt him. "What's up, Charlie?"

"Hmmmm..." the boy answered, a moment before taking a breath. "What would happen if you didn't sprinkle the ground Sugarnuts in a pinch at a time, Willy? Three hundred Sugarnuts make a lot of powder!"

Willy smiled. Charlie shivered again. Was he simply imagining that smile fitting a shark, eyeing up its next meal?

"In the words of Ozymandias, 'Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay, of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.'" Willy stopped abruptly, choking off a laugh as he noted Charlie's forehead looking like some farmer had ploughed furrows into it. "I amend it thus: 'Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. By tooth-crunch wrought, where once proud molars stood, boundless and bare, the lone and level gums, stretch rotting away'."

It was a ghastly image. "Oh!" Charlie paused, thinking about what Willy might be getting at. "You mean their teeth might break." Charlie nodded, with sudden understanding. "I see. Thanks for explaining that, Willy."

Feeling suddenly loquacious, Willy shared a confidential grin. "The Sugarnuts are a key ingredient in the Everlasting Gobstopper. Obviously, that procedure is patented now, but it's one of the reasons why they never went into full scale production. If a child had tried to chew them, well, then, bye-bye teeth. Having a rooted objection to lawsuits, pun intended, I decided that it wasn't worth the risk. In the experimental stages, I found that this process took away the issue when it came to chewing, but it meant the Gobstoppers could no longer be marketed as 'Everlasting'."

Willy, who had been talking more and more quietly, trailed off into reminiscing about those experiments. The Oompa-Loompa who trialled the new recipe found that, at the end of a long day of sucking, the Gobstopper had reduced in size by about twenty percent. Five days later it would have disappeared. This was not good enough, as far as Willy was concerned. If it said 'Everlasting' on the packet, it should last forever, not dissolve away to nothing in less than a week. In the end, he concluded that the idea, while it had been intriguing, was more trouble than it was (Slug)worth.

The sudden silence jerked Charlie's head up. Seeing Willy sit with a small smile on his face, the teenager sighed, and pulled out a small notepad. Jotting down the date, time, and topic of discussion, he continued to watch, until a sharpness returned to his mentor's eyes. This was happening more and more regularly now. When he first got to know Willy, it occurred once in a blue moon. Now it happened most weeks. Willy would be talking about one of his inventions, and his words would drift off. Willy would enter a day dream of memories of fonder times, developing his candies. A few minutes later he would return to the present. He might be rather disorientated, and yet, be fired up to try out some new idea. The Oompa-Loompas responsible for Willy's health were sure that Willy just missed creating new candies. But they couldn't afford to talk about new things here: not while James was spying on them.

When it looked like Willy was going to jump start into some completely new idea, Charlie spoke up in a loud voice. "When are we going to start on the Snozzbang Suckers for real then, Willy? If we have to put the grindings of three-hundred Sugarnuts in a pinch at a time, I can see it taking all week to accomplish!"

Willy smirked up at him. "I think we can let the Oompa-Loompas deal with that job. There are so many of them; they can work in shifts. We have the facilities for ten nuts to be ground down at a time. It takes around an hour for each nut to be ground down into a useable dust, and twice as long for them to be added to the liquid.

"You know that I've told you that precision is utterly essential for this recipe. The tea must be made with the heads of six-thousand Elder Flowers, stewed, consecutively, in groups of five-hundred, in a large copper pan, for five hours and five minutes. It is then strained and distilled. The twelve batches of Elder Flower should produce exactly six cups of extra pure distilled tea. A drop less and you end up with failure. Each cup is placed in the fridge as it is gathered, and are then combined when we are ready to continue the process. When all of the tea is safely in the fridge, we are ready to begin working with the Snozzberries.

"There are forty-four dried Snozzberries involved in each batch. Each dried Snozzberry should weigh half-an-ounce. Each of the dried Snozzberries is pounded eleven times with a maple mallet weighing precisely one-pound-and-ten-ounces, to ensure that they are adequately squashed. Twelve teaspoons of Jalapeno Powder are added to a pan of Vinegar, along with thirteen crushed chilies. The Snozzberries marinade in this mixture for twenty-two hours, twenty-two minutes, and twenty-two seconds. Then the liquid is strained away, and the remains are added to a Spicy Tomato Sauce. This is heated in a slow cooker for nine hours, nine minutes and nine seconds before it is ready to be combined with the tea. A second more or less, and the whole batch must be thrown away.

"The two components must be added to a ceramic pot with meticulous precision. One tablespoon of curried Snozzberries, followed by two teaspoons of the tea. This task takes around four hours to achieve, and should fill the container two-thirds full. The mixture must be stirred three times in each direction with a marble spoon before each round of ingredients—no other implement will suffice. Then the mixture must spend three days, three hours, three minutes and three seconds in the fridge.

"When the concoction is removed from the fridge, the next stage of the procedure may begin: combining the Sugarnut dust with the Snozzberry-Elder-Flower-Tea mix. This stage requires a large Bloodwood bowl, made from an Australian Eucalipt tree. A spoonful of the liquid is added, and a pinch of the dust. The mixture should be beaten together ten times, with an uncut, seven-thousand-four-hundred-fifty-three carat Sapphire bat, before more ingredients are added. An eight minute, eight second resting time should also be given before adding more ingredients.

"If my calculations are correct, there should be enough liquid for the first two-hundred-fifty-five pinches. The remainder of the Sugarnut dust should be added a pinch at a time, stirred five times with a ten pound spoon with an inner core of lead, sealed with tin. This ensures the perfect amount of pressure in the stirring. The mixture must be left to sit for six minutes and six seconds between each addition. This, if done correctly, should produce a creamy concoction. At this stage the scent of the concoction reminds me of a mix of spices, and light summer breezes.

"If less than perfection is achieved, this can be remedied with thirteen minutes and thirteen seconds worth of reducing. After which, it is cooled for twenty-two minutes and twenty-two seconds, and then placed in the fridge for four days, four hours, four minutes, and four seconds. During this time, the properties of the Bloodwood bowl imbue into the cream. Due to this, a fresh Bloodwood bowl must be procured for every batch.

"Then, once the mixture has sat in the fridge for four days, four hours, four minutes, and four seconds, you are ready to pipe it into the specially prepared chocolate honeycomb. But since that is another story, and cannot be made until after the filling is combined, it's better not to worry about that yet."

Charlie was standing looking at Willy, an eyebrow raised. "So how many days does it take to prepare the filling, Willy?" he queried, having got lost in the complex explanation.

Willy stood, adding the figures together in his head. "Sixty-one hours, two and a half days. Add... one-hundred and eleven hours, Four and a half days. Add three days... That's ten days anyway, Charlie—and the Sugarnuts take a full seven days to be ground into fine powder, and must be ready to go five days before the mixture is complete, which means you have to start grinding them two days before you begin the rest of the procedure. So twelve days, from start to finish."

Charlie eyed his mentor warily. "And that's working twenty-four hours a day for twelve days," he commented. "Just as well we have a troupe of willing Oompa-Loompas to work round the clock with us. Especially if I need to be in school during production hours!"

Willy frowned. "School! This is far more important than school, my boy!"

Charlie rolled his eyes. Willy refused to realise that he was growing up now. "We've had this discussion, Willy. I need to attend a certain amount of school. I'm not free to take a day off here or there just because you want to start developing a new confection." Willy sighed, but Charlie suspected that once again, his explanation had fallen on deaf ears. "Anyway, when do we start?"

Willy pondered for a few minutes. "Well, since we obviously aren't ready to combine ingredients just yet... How about the Oompa-Loompas and I begin tomorrow? Then we should be ready for the majority of the important work when you get your weekend."

Charlie smiled in satisfaction. That sounded absolutely perfect to him. When Willy raised an eyebrow, and gestured towards the corner where the hidden microphone was concealed, Charlie's eyes widened in sudden realisation. "Oh! That sounds great. I shall look forwards to it!"

Willy nodded at him, a grin of glee covering his face. "Then let us depart. There is no more call for us here to remain."

Once the Inventing Room door had closed behind them, the pair broke down in fits of giggles. Wilkinson wouldn't know what had hit him!

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

Thanks to everyone who has read the first chapters of this story. Especially those who have taken the time to review. JohnHammond1993 and Sonny April, I shall pass your congratulations onto my friend who made the suggestion. Turrislucidus, it is easy to see why you can see the Slugworth ruse as a dress rehearsal for real betrayal. I guess Willy has been disappointed, but it seems he's not down and out yet.

Acknowledgements:

The poem "Ozymandias" was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

At the time of writing, "The Natural Sapphire Company" was selling a Red Sapphire (Yeah. Okay, known as ruby, but beyond the colour, it counts as the same type of stone—they were selling it as a 'Red Sapphire Crystal' so I guess it counts!) of that approximate weight (to .66 of a carat), with the dimensions (mm) of 165.00 (long), 62 (wide), 60 (deep) for £5,829/$7,453.44.

If you recognise anything else from elsewhere, the chances are that it doesn't belong to me.


	3. Devil Three - The Last Few Details

Devil Three - The Last Few Details.

The following morning, Willy and the Oompa-Loompa team got started on the new project. Each of the Oompa-Loompas had a specific task to see to, while Willy acted as overseer, making sure that every specific detail was attended to. Work progressed in similar fashion for the next few days, with Willy and team paying especial care to every minute detail of their instructions. At the end of day three, Willy mopped his brow, and left the Inventing Room, a smile of glee painting his face. His calculations were working out spectacularly, and the Oompa-Loompa supervising the newest team was as fanatical about detail as Willy was. It was therefore safe to take a break for a few hours. Eat, sleep, and return to the room to check on progress.

It was especially thrilling coming across James leaving the dining area. He seemed jubilant. Willy watched the other man wander on his way, then rubbed his hands together in anticipation. The bait had been taken. It would probably take Slugworth a while to source several of the utensils required, that very issue was one of the reasons Willy had held off springing his trap. He had spent a long time researching different utensils he could use to create different effects, to get the precise results he wanted. Then, having sourced a likely option, he had to have them delivered to the Factory. He had only started conferring with Charlie when the last utensil had arrived. The Sapphire had cost a pretty penny, but Willy was thrilled; it was so distinctive, and would come in useful for some of his other plans. It was a perfectly 'Willy' way of doing things. That its cost would cut deeply into Slugworth's financial reserves for the confection Slugworth was currently attempting to emulate, simply added an extra zing of delight, and knowing that the game was afoot was immensely satisfying. Now it was time to see just what path this merry chase would take them along.

Charlie's involvement was just as thrilling as the rest of the painstaking procedure. After the first half hour, he began a playful grousing. "I'm going to get a headache from this!"

Willy rolled his eyes. Charlie loved seeing how things progressed over time; how the creations came together. He was less enthused about the precision involved. He often complained that he wasn't a scientist, so couldn't be expected to work using the same precise methods a scientist would. Willy harrumphed; that Turkentine man had a lot to answer for. The grousing was good natured though, and while Willy rolled his eyes at it, he was willing to put up with such from the teen, as long as the boy understood the reasons behind them doing so much of the work themselves. They couldn't foist all the repetitive tasks onto the Oompa-Loompas after all, nor was it any good if the chief creator in a Factory had no understanding of science. At Wonka's Factory, it was share and share alike.

* * *

The confection's creation brought the time since Charlie's discovery to two-and-a-half months. The last two days of the last fortnight had been filled with preparing the honeycomb chocolate, and piping the mixture into it: a comparatively short (and easy) part of the entire process. Intelligence from the Oompa-Loompas suggested that in the fortnight they had been working on their candy creation, Slugworth had managed to locate the various difficult ingredients and implements, and was now ready to begin on his own attempt. This meant that there was probably another fortnight before they could implement the next stage of their plan. Charlie looked at Willy as they heard this report, and giggled. He was finding it harder and harder to act naturally, now that the trap was so close to being sprung. Willy shook his head at his apprentice, an affectionate smile lighting his eyes. "Now we must wait, Charlie. You know why I can't begin work on anything else, don't you?"

The notion sobered Charlie up at once. As much as he was enjoying their current shenanigans, it was chilling knowing that they had a viper in their midst. It would be too easy to forget, and have some other idea stolen, and _that_ would feel as happy as a snake bite in an intimate place. The teen shuddered at the thought. The wait might be irksome, but to solve the problem, it was more than worth it.

* * *

Finally, the time had passed. Willy had spent the intervening week researching burglar devices. Much as he would have liked to install something with the availability for video footage, there simply wasn't anything sophisticated enough out there yet. He had ended up investing in something sound orientated, and had installed it in the dead of night. Willy had reveled in just how unusual this kind of activity was for him, with the possibility that he might get caught adding to the excitement. Of course, he knew that James was sound asleep at this hour, but that didn't mean that his dedicated (though not to him) assistant didn't have an alarm set to get him out of the factory at a time no one would suspect. As Willy finished tightening the last screws, and gathered his equipment, this indeed appeared to be the case. A stealthy figure was making its way across the moonlit courtyard, and Willy, seeing this, retreated into some shadows.

Since the installation date, Willy had spent some of his time tweaking the control settings, so that it would pick up only the things he wanted to know about. Having full blown audio when the wind had chosen to blow a gale, and a branch had smacked into the gate, had been less than amusing. The sudden noise filling the office had meant Willy had jumped out of his skin. Now things were perfect, and it was as the two conspirers were sitting in that third-floor office, sipping some river chocolate, that the squeak of the gate, amplified through the new sound system, recalled them to business.

Charlie's part in this was minimal. Timing it so that they would bump into James as they went, the two walked through the corridors, talking loudly about their excitement at having just sent off the first completed bars of chocolate to a few stores to trial the popularity of the bars.

Suddenly James appeared, a wide smile on his face. He had been heading towards his own quarters when he heard the commotion. Charlie's young voice was bell-like in its clarity, proclaiming success in this latest venture. Willy and Charlie _must_ have created perfection if they were starting to sell the candy, even if only a few select stores were involved. The ear-lashing James had just received from Slugworth faded to a dull and distant memory, unlike the taste of the candy Slugworth, following the recipe James had provided, had managed to produce. In a word, it was vile. No! That wasn't a strong enough description. With the first bite of the chocolate, both James and Slugworth had been looking for the nearest receptacle. Slugworth had narrowly avoided spitting his mouthful onto his crisp suit. James had been physically sick from the taste. The two had written the entire experiment off as a complete failure. Had they done something wrong? How on earth could Willy have managed to get something nice enough to eat from that vile mixture? And yet, he must have done so! Willy was selling the stuff!

With his most recent forays into finding out how the candy experiments were coming successful, James was prepared to ask more. With that thought in mind, he bounced around the corner, into the path of Willy and Charlie. Honestly! That teenager was ridiculous. He was shouting the news for all to hear! He would never make it in any candy factory! All of his ideas would be swiped before he had even finished thinking about them: he scattered the news to all and sundry. It would be a field day for spies! What a convenient scapegoat!

"Do my ears deceive me? The Snozzbang Suckers are ready for distribution? That's fantastic news!" James paused, a beaming smile lighting his whole face. "Errm, sir..." his voice trailed off for a moment. "Would it be... I don't want to be presumptuous... but would it be okay for me to taste one of these new confections? I admit to being curious about it!"

Willy refrained from rolling his eyes. Were he in the mood to put James on the spot, he would have asked him to explain how he knew the name of the newest confection. Not today though. Today he had a job to do. If he read the hints rightly, James must have tasted what Slugworth had achieved after the meticulous work required for this candy. Now he just had to plant the correct seeds. Then the slimy spy, and the perfidious proprietor of Slugworth Industries would be dealt their comeuppance.

"I wish it were possible James, but this candy needs to be kept in a specific, climate-controlled environment, and sold on an exact day for optimum flavour. As soon as the candy is complete, it must be wrapped in tinfoil, put into the specially designed climate controlled bags, and left to sweat for two days. It has to be sold on the third day. We create such limited batches, because if they are consumed on the first or second day after this, the chocolate will taste of rancid milk. If it is left for one further day, it tastes more of rotting fish. Only candy that is sold on the third day will be worth eating. _That_ candy is perfection itself.

"To achieve this, the candy must be sent out in the heated bags (heated to 14.4C) while they are still marinading. The bags of fifty cannot be opened while this is happening. The simple truth is that if the bag is opened before it reaches the shop, the entire batch is ruined." Enthusiasm carried Willy along, the idea of his newest creation, and all the careful complexities it involved spilling the information out in a way he would never have otherwise condoned.

Jackpot! James grinned to himself. He would have to phone Slugworth later, to arrange a further appointment. How providential to have this information fall into his lap in such a timely manner. The relief and exultation this windfall provided had James skipping to his suite. First a shower, then something to eat, and then that phone call!

Slugworth had been thrilled at the news. A reason for why the chocolate tasted so awful? Excellent. His chocolate wrapping had been a plastic wrap. It was an expensive failure, and he hadn't known about the heated bag required, either. James had suggested caution, but Arthur wasn't having any of it! They had already lost one batch of chocolate, at ruinous expense. Wonka was already putting this confection on sale. He had to know what he was doing! The key to making this killing was to pip the other confectioner at the post. There was no time, or money, to taste the candy again after the required fermenting time. Besides which, the awfulness of the aftertaste would put anyone off of sampling the product again. No, no, this was the time to go into mass production and get the candy out, so that Slugworth Industries could be credited with the discovery! Nothing could beat the thrill of edging out your competitors!

The knowledge, passed on by the Oompa-Loompas, that James and Sluggy had taken the bait, and were thus adequately contained, put a spring in Willy's step. No, he couldn't begin work on anything new, but he could sit and watch the fun as it came about. Of course, the loss of the first batch meant that results were going to have to wait for a fortnight. James had begun muttering to himself in his room: the second tap, installed just after James had reported the news to Sluggy, provided lots of amusement amongst the workforce. Sluggy had stopped doing anything beyond working on this candy. He was mass producing, ready to ship out to suppliers throughout the world. He was going to become known as the inventor of this wonderful candy. Willy couldn't help but splutter at this information. Sluggy was putting his whole nest egg into this one venture. How very convenient! The lesson was going to be a harsh one indeed!

* * *

 **Authors Note** : Thanks once again to everyone who read, and for those who took the time to review. Turrislucidus... I know. I wouldn't be interested in making a recipe that complicated either. JOHNHAMMOND1993, time will tell when it comes to Wilkinson. Sonny April, how brilliant of you. Those are exactly the kind of questions that the last chapter wanted you to ask. There isn't enough information given for you to tell for sure: read on. Linkwonka88, I sometimes wonder whether Willy was trying to make the recipe as expensive as he could. I guess that's one way to get revenge on a spy. mattTheWriter072, thanks for the fabulous imagery there. I'm glad you have enjoyed it. Hopefully this chapter, and the last, will maintain the standard.

14.4C is 57.92F — according to Google. The same source informs me that this is not warm enough for chocolate to melt.

if you recognise it from elsewhere, the chances are, it doesn't belong to me.


	4. Devil Four - Consequences

Devil Four - Consequences

As expected, it took a further fortnight for the hammer to fall. Willy and Charlie were sat with the Oompa-Loompas in one of the chill out rooms, watching the news. The headlines appearing on the bottom of the screen were mostly boring. Then, there was laughter all around the room, as the focus turned to a confectioner's store.

'Slugworth Industries Strikes Out With Sickening Sweet' read the crawl. Next came, 'Rancid Chocolates Not Worth A Slug'. The headlines were eye catching. Then the real news began. There were reports that many children, all around the world, were becoming physically sick upon trying the new chocolate bar pioneered by Mr. Slugworth. But that wasn't all. Adults were reporting side-effects as well: women eating the new bar reported suffering hot flushes that made the Sahara seem like Greenland. All of it made Willy blanch.

Willy turned despondently to Charlie. "I did say hot and spicy, but that sounds more like what you said."

"Smokin' hot?"

Willy nodded. "Can you believe, Charlie, that after tasting that sludge, Slugworth sent it out? That he could do so escapes me; the man's a fool! How could he possibly believe any further processing would save that affront to the taste buds?"

"Now that you mention it, no, I can't," said Charlie, "but what do they mean about the Sahara and Greenland?"

Willy turned away. "Ask your mother."

The commentator droned on. Men reported a burning increase in libido, but with an accompanying total decrease in ability, with some intrepid adventurers further reporting that Viagra left them flat, er, flaccid. The effect was reported to last for three days, three hours, three minutes, and three seconds, though how anyone could be so precise about such a predicament had the reporter shaking his head. Surely it depended on how much of the candy one ate? Those who had been unfortunate enough to try the Viagra remedy suffered for double the time, with no one knowing why, or wanting to do the research to find out.

"So is that your 'hot and spicy', Willy?" asked Charlie, determined not to be the only one to feel embarrassed.

"Hot," allowed Willy, "but not spicy."

Willy turned back to the screen. The reporter, part of a panel, nibbled the corner of a bar, before spitting it out.

"Well, the flavour certainly is potent!" he exclaimed. "In the wake of Slugworth Industries massive advertising campaign, telling the world about the delectable flavour of their new confection, 'Slugbang Suckers', I have to question the definition they would give the word 'delectable.' It's certainly very different to my take! Hey! Do you think they're made with garden slugs?"

At that, laughter pealed round Wonka's TV room, as the occupants gave in to helpless belly laughs. This couldn't have worked out better, if they had planned it! The reporter's companions on screen chuckled politely, wondering all the while if their colleague would experience the other side effect: he'd eaten so little. It was a follow-up story for another day, perhaps, but whether it made it on-air or not, they knew they'd be asking him.

* * *

Reports continued piling in over the next few weeks, with Slugworth's stock falling under the weight of every one of them. Time showed that the 'heat' properties were multiplied by the number of grams a person nibbled on. Willy scratched his head in amazement. Having tasted the revolting flavour once, people went back a second and third time? It was ridiculous! Unthinkable! What was wrong with these people?

* * *

Within the month, Slugworth Industries had declared bankruptcy, and Slugworth himself was jailed for multiple misdemeanors, including, but not limited to, failure to properly test his product, false advertising, and endangering the public. During his trial, Slugworth did his best to implicate James Wilkinson, Willy Wonka's erstwhile personal assistant, as the cause of his downfall. Slugworth's tactic may have meant to tarnish Wonka's reputation as well, but with the long-standing disagreement between the two competitors so well known, no one put much stock in those claims. Of course, Willy waited for none of those events to unfold, summoning James to the Golden Egg Room on the day the news concerning the deleterious chocolate bars broke.

"Um, sure, Willy, but why?"

"You'll see," was all the enigmatic chocolatier replied.

Glued to Willy's side, James noted Charlie grinning like a half-wit, and something about that annoying teen's annoying grin gave James pause. At the Golden Egg Room, Willy bid James test the Eggdicator.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Willy. Is something wrong with it?"

"No, my less-than-good man, I trust," an eyebrow emphasized the word, "that everything is quite all right with it. Shall we see if all is dandy with you? Veruca Salt gave me this idea. I want to know NOW! I've beefed it up, you see. It will now accomadate your weight. You didn't know I'd done that? I thought you knew my every move, knowing the name of the Snozzberry Suckers before I'd told you it, as you did. Now, shall we see if you're a good egg? Step on the scale, if you please... Or don't you dare?"

James, backing away, his eyes wide, was opting for 'don't dare'. It was plain to him now that Willy was on to him. "I can explain, Willy. It's all a silly misunderstanding! You see I—"

"I have no intention of seeing, and no intention of seeing you in my Factory any longer. I have tapes of your telephone conversations with—"

James made to bolt, but Oompa-Loompas had been filing quietly into the room, and his way was blocked. James groaned, frowning at what he guessed was coming. Forming a circle around the nervous rat, trapping him, the Oompa-Loompas began to chant:

"Oompa-Loompa, doom-pa-de-do;  
I've got a perfect puzzle for you.  
Oompa-Loompa doom-pa-da-de  
If you are wise you'll listen to me..."

James' frown deepened, as he watched the Oompa-Loompas going through their ridiculous dance routine. Yep, there was Willy, listening with polite interest, and that ridiculous child, Charlie, having the gall to laugh...

"What do you get when you stab-in-the-back?  
Shown to the door, it's as simple as that.  
Caught with red-hands makes a hull-a-ba-loo  
Better to be loyal, steadfast, and true."

"That is just the way it is!"

Fury overpowering his common sense at last, James opened his mouth: "Why you little—"

James cut his frustrated yell off with a funny sounding squeal, as he caught sight of Willy out of the corner of his eye. The other man had taken one step forward, fury in his eyes. James turned his head to the side, looking down towards the Oompa-Loompa dance again. The dance was preferable to Willy's wrath!

The Oompa-Loompas continued on, as if there had never been an interruption.

"Oompa-Loompa doom-pa de da  
If you don't steal things, you will go far;  
You will live in happiness, too,  
Like the Oompa-Loompa doom-pa de do!"

James harrumphed in disbelief. Like their way of life was a good thing! There was no way he wanted his life like their life! Of course, the little twerps were too ignorant to realise this. How on earth Willy could stand the creeps had always been beyond James, and this holier-than-thou little display hadn't changed that. As he realised they had reached the end of the song, James felt relief, but to his undisguised horror, they went through the second verse of the chant again, opening up their ranks to allow him access to the corridor. More of them—was every Oompa-Loompa in the place abandoning their posts to take part in this?—took up the entire chant out there, as they harried him along. Willy and Charlie followed sedately.

Ignoring his shouts that they should just shut up, followed by the injustice of being thrown out without a chance to collect his belongings, the Oompa-Loompas chanted James all the way to the Factory door, which he saw was open. At the gate was a wheelbarrow, piled high with items. As the Oompa-Loompas scurried back to their tasks, leaving only Willy and Charlie standing with him, James could make out that the items were his personal possessions.

"We didn't want you leave empty-handed," sniffed Willy. "When you have an address, we'll send the rest. In care of Mr. Slugworth, perhaps?"

"Willy..." James could see the years of his life, being sent on the swirly ride. Willy's face conveyed, with no doubt, how useless pleading would be. James, doing his best at the last to salvage a shred of dignity, headed towards the derelict tableau they had set for him.

Willy, waving from the steps, played Oompa-Loompa, chanting in every language he knew (quite a few) the words 'good-bye' and 'good riddance'. At the gate, James looked back. Charlie, still with that half-wit grin on his face, was standing where James had wanted to stand, beside Willy: not as an assistant, but as the person learning all Willy's secrets. Knowing he'd never be back, James cursed his stupidity for letting his jealously of the ubiquitous teen cloud his judgement. As he closed the gate, with he and his ignominious wheelbarrow on the other side, the two turned their backs on him, and he, on them.

Soon after, with all the locks changed, the Factory forgot the whole affair, and with nary a marring blip on the sales of Wonka confections, life returned to some version of normal.

* * *

A few weeks later, Willy and Charlie were stood in a dark room: black walls, dark-blue ceiling, slate floor. The thermostat was set to keep the temperature to just above fridge level. Both were warmly wrapped in thick jackets. Then, at a gesture from Willy, Charlie grabbed a handful of the powder from the brass bowl sitting at his feet. Throwing it down on the ground in front of them, Charlie glanced at Willy, before they both knelt to examine the multi-coloured flames that had burst forth from the impact. The fire was pleasantly warm in the coldness of the room, heating their cold faces, yet not burning hot. Charlie marvelled at the flickering lights of blue, green, purple, and grey, in amongst the oranges and reds. The unusual colours captured his attention. Then Willy reached out a hand, and scooped up two of the dancing flames. Charlie gasped in surprise and alarm.

"It's not that hot, Charlie. It tickles some, but is only slightly warmer than body heat."

Charlie spluttered around a laugh of relief. Sometimes Willy did shock him.

Willy looked at Charlie as the flames began to flicker more weakly, and die. "Do you know, in the aftermath of it all, what strikes me as the most ridiculous thing ever? How Wilkinson could hear us talking about our newest invention, Instant Bonfire Powder, and think that we might be creating a chocolate bar!"

On hearing this proclamation, Charlie fell into helpless giggles. Willy was right. Once you got past the shock of the treachery, the entire misunderstanding was absurd.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

My thanks once again to all who took the time to read this story. Especial thanks, as always, going to those who took the time required to review.

Turrislucidus, yep, I agree, although in the end it did look like James would have abandoned everything, and it was only Slugworth's determination that carried the project through to the end... Maybe he had simply invested too much time and money in the project already to simply let it go? Maybe he was on the edge of bankruptcy and needed something to rescue him from that? Or he could simply be blinded by a jealous rage...

I'm thrilled that you have enjoyed this short tale Linkwonka88. I hope that the comeuppance was satisfying enough!

JOHNHAMMOND1993... I'm thinking that answers your question regarding a demise song. As far as responses to any comments on this last chapter go... 'remember, 'an account is out there!'' ;-)

That is indeed what they get for not doing proper quality control Sonny April. Of course, if James hadn't got the wrong end of the stick in the first place, and if he hadn't reported his erroneous conclusions to Slugworth, the whole sorry mess would never have happened. James and Slugworth were truly (to use the phraseology of Shakespeare's "Hamlet") 'hoist with ones own petard.' I hope you enjoyed the conclusion of this story.

I am due my thanks to my proofreading friend who, when I began to talk about the idea of the Bonfire Powder, began to talk about the image of flames of all different colours, thus, that aspect of this idea doesn't belong to me. Having the flames cool enough to touch may well also belong to her. Ditto, thanks wise, for her help and advice regarding how to word the side-effect jokes to keep this a 'T' rating.

As always, if you recognise it from elsewhere, the chances are it doesn't belong to me.


End file.
